Slow Start
by Lizard Pie
Summary: Archie and Maxie were brought together by their first team only to drive themselves apart. ORAS
1. Chapter 1

"You're taking too long," the guard growled as he scanned the area. The water was tragically touristy, full of swimmers and fishermen only passing through the area so nobody would think a moment about a new face. While it made it easy for them to do their job, that same luxury was available to any enemies they might have.

"I'm taking exactly as long as the job needs," he said, firmly. "And I can't imagine they're paying you to talk."

"No, they're paying me to make sure your scrawny ass makes it back to base intact and stocked with those samples. And I can't do that if you won't stop dragging your feet!"

He gritted his teeth as he scooped another soil sample into a jar. "Fine. I only need one more."

It'd barely been a week since Maxie had been recruited from the university campus. Representatives had sat down beside him at lunch and offered a part-time position. There was a great deal of talk about creating a new world, he hadn't really listened. but far more importantly there'd be a great deal of chemistry and analysis that'd look fantastic on a resume. That he'd get a much needed infusion of cash made it even better.

He'd come in fully expecting to do grunt work for a long while. What he hadn't anticipated was to be mandated to do it in beachwear to blend in with the tourists, and he'd certainly never thought about a guard beyond perhaps a doorman or night watchman. Maxie had to wonder if this would have bothered him anywhere near as much if his guard would button his shirt properly or just shut up a few minutes.

"You know, I don't need to be watched like this" he said, against his better judgment, as he analyzed for the best place to dig. "I do have a Numel right here. I could defend myself just-"

The guard snorted. "That fat little pet? You two would get killed by a Magikarp in a minute flat. There's no way you'd stand a chance against a trainer with half a brain, even if they didn't know what you were here for."

The Sharpedo who'd brought them, and now calmly patrolled the water around the tiny island, had been raised from day one to fight. It was sleek and disciplined, especially compared to the Numel who lazily ambled after Maxie with the sample case. It'd been born and bred to be a pet, and had never once seen a session that could rightfully be called 'training'. The Zubat and Poochyena he'd been granted upon hire had likewise become rather lax in their Poke Balls. They reflected their trainers, really. Despite being roughly the same age, the guard was carved by surf and sun while Maxie was blindingly pale from so long indoors. The little he'd ventured outside had left him riddled with freckles he usually did a much better job at hiding. It was all he could do not to grumble.

"There's someone headed over," the guard said with his jaw clenched. "Might be nothing, but we need to split _now_."

"Alright, I'm done." He twisted on the last lid and recalled his Numel.

"Perfect."

Within a moment he was dragged onto the Sharpedo. The guard was almost twitchy as he steered and tried to move as quickly as possible, with a wide berth to swimmers, without drawing attention. All Maxie could do was clutch the bag to his chest and try to focus on the slap of the water spray to distract from the arm that held him just a bit too tightly around the waist.

As soon as they were on dry land, he'd be back into his uniform and lab coat. The guard would go back to whatever he did exactly, and neither one would be forced to be this close again. They could forget about the entire thing, which would be lovely since Maxie really only had one take-away. The burliness of that arm compared to his own, the state of his Pokemon compared to battle-ready ones, simply wouldn't do.

The next day he'd begin their training.


	2. Chapter 2

His Numel had been gifted to him as a child by well-meaning, though misguided, relatives. It was trained in the most basic sense, able to cleanly live indoors and fetch this or that, but nothing further.

The two he'd been given seemed to sense that, likely in large part due to their previous training, and flat-out refused to follow any orders he tried to give. He knew exactly how terrible that was, and so he decided to head out to the training grounds at night. Nobody would be around to see as he tried to follow the guidebooks and make something happen.

"You really suck at this."

Maxie nearly leapt out of his skin. He whipped his head around and scowled. Of course it was the loudmouth from the other day, because that was just his luck.

"What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I'm a guard you idiot," he said, and clearly tried to suppress a laugh. "Means I get stuck on night shift sometimes."

"Right. Well, anyway I have this covered." He tapped the book. "So if you'll excuse me..."

"The way you're having your Poochyena work is beggin' for a pulled muscle," the guard said casually. "And your Numel's gonna break its neck if you keep pushing it that fast. Just what I can tell in the dark."

He paused and frowned down at the guide. "Exactly how much training will they need?"

"Well, better than..."

"I mean in this organization. I wasn't expecting anything that'd need guards at all, much less ones following me around..."

"Are you asking if I'm not going to be able to keep you alive?"

He shifted. "Not in so many words..."

The guard sighed and looked at the group of lazing Pokemon. "Can't rule it out."

Maxie swallowed and nodded. "Right. Well, do you have a pointer or two?"

"Other than lose the book?"

"Preferably."

"Yeah, I have a couple." He fished out a Poke Ball. "Archie, by the way."

"What?"

"You never asked."

"Right." He straightened up. "Thank you, Archie."

* * *

><p>His Numel had certainly been fat, which had been rather hard to admit since he'd never noticed. Within a few weeks the entire team was trimmed and responsive, certainly not to the level of the guard's but respectable for a young member of the research team.<p>

The initiative hadn't gone unnoticed or unappreciated among his superiors. It was a strong career move to continue the lessons, he just wished there was a better way to keep them going than to follow every order unquestioningly. That included unnecessary ones like mandated grooming after training sessions. It was for an all-important bonding process or something, Maxie had more nodded along than anything.

"So when do they evolve?" he asked as he massaged shampoo into the Poochyena's coat.

"Depends. At the level you're working might be a couple years. But they'll get there." He reached over to give the Pokemon a scratch. "You have a good group."

"Glad to hear it. I hadn't expected it to be that long, though."

"You're only working out maybe an hour a few days a week. It's gonna take a while." He smirked. "Did you think you'd be rid of us that easily?"

"I'd like to be able to come back from fieldwork alive without having to be called 'bro' or 'dude'."

"Hate to break it to 'ya," Archie said as he passed over the hose. "But you're a long way off." He recalled his Zubat and slapped Maxie on the back. "But don't worry, bro. I'll get you there if I have to drag you."

The Poochyena braced itself to keep Maxie from face planting.

"You're too kind."

"Yeah, I know. Next lesson is going to require beer, by the way. At least a case, and nothing too cheap or stupid fancy." He headed back to the barracks for a few precious hours of sleep before his shift. "And yeah, it's mandatory for training."


	3. Chapter 3

The barracks had been cheap, with rent, utilities, and meals taken right out of his pay, and very quickly he chose them over the student housing. They certainly did their job, ensuring his stomach was always full and his showers always hot, though with the glaring exception of any real sense of privacy. With a minimum of a dozen bunk-beds per room, and people coming on and off shift at all hours, the area was unceasingly bright, noisy, and active.

Most of the employees were dropouts of something or other, usually high-school, so it wasn't as much of an issue. Maxie solved it by spending as little time in bed as possible, especially if he planned to read anything. If he ever managed to forget that personal rule, his new self-appointed best friend would be there to remind him why it was there.

"So what's up for tonight?"Archie sat down roughly on the opposite end of the cot.

"Physics," he explained as he turned the cover so it could be read as had become rather routine.

"Thought you did that yesterday."

"Odd as it sounds, the class is longer than a day."

"Mm." He kicked back, having lost interest before the explanation was over. "Ever study oceanography?"

"That's not in my field."

"You read all sorts'a stuff that's not work or school."

He shrugged and concentrated on a quick swipe with his highlighter. "Fair enough. I haven't read up on it, no."

"Maybe you should sometime, sure it'd be interesting to-"

"I doubt it," he said. The tone was harsher than he'd meant, and he quickly added, "I've never been a huge fan of the water, so..."

"Maybe you just haven't spent enough time on it."

"I grew up on it, I spent plenty of time." He flipped a page. "And yes, literally on it. I'm from Pacifidlog."

Archie perked up. "Really?"

"Don't sound so excited, it's not worth that."

"I've always wanted to head there! Is it nice?"  
>"Much as it can be for a place that might be destroyed at any minute."<p>

"Well, I'm from Fallarbor."

He glanced over the top of his book. "Didn't you say they recruited you from a shipyard?"

"They did."

"That's an odd career path for..."

"For a guy without much schoolin', references, or work experience, there aren't too many jobs out there. I get to the yard and they snapped me right up." He grinned. "Turned out it's my life's calling."

"Ah," he said. "Nice you could find it. Most don't."

"Yeah, I know. But we never docked in Pacifidlog. Hey, if you're ever going back..."

"I don't intend to."

"Got that. But I mean, if you do, let me know so I can tag along. Tour guide would be awesome."

That Archie had automatically assumed they'd be traveling together struck Maxie as brazen, but not unpleasant enough to fight at the moment. At least, not when he had a test coming up.

"Alright,fine. _If_ I ever go back."

Archie poked him with his foot. "Holding you to that, got it?"

"Yes, I figured."


	4. Chapter 4

"So..." Maxie leaned, in his best attempt at appearing nonchalant, against the bedpost. "You're packing, then?"

"Well, yeah. Holidays mean we're disbanding for like 2 weeks," Archie said as he continued to shove clothing into his bag.

"No, I know. But some people aren't leaving, so I wasn't sure..."

"Are you part of the 'some'?" he asked.

The balled jeans didn't cram in particularly well, and Archie begrudgingly realized have to reuse them a lot if he was going to make it the whole time. The entire time he tried to sort out how to fit one more in, Maxie hadn't said anything.

Archie looked up blankly. "Seriously? Max, you haven't seen your family in like a year. I know you don't get out much, but I kinda figured you'd head home for break..."

"We don't have terribly much to talk about," he said, softly and curtly.

Relationship issues, particularly family ones, were one of the key things recruiters liked to zero in on. It led to an unspoken rule among grunts that prying was off limits.

"Well what are you going to do, then?"

"I have plenty of work to do in the lab, and there are always flashcards to be gone over. Chapters to be read, projects to be started..." He shrugged. "I'll keep busy."

"If you don't stop nerdin' out constantly, your brain's gonna melt."

"They pay me good money to constantly nerd out, thank you very much."

"Point is you gotta take a break once and a while. Even if you're not going to Pacifidlog, at least go somewhere other than here."

"I'd rather not waste money on a hotel when I can still stay here for free. Mess hall's supposed to be open a meal a day, and I'm sure someone staying around will have a deck of cards, so..."

"Sounds fun."

"I'm not much of a holiday person in the first place."

"That's it." Archie forced the duffel bag to zip. "Pack your damn suitcase."

"I told you I'm staying here."

"Like hell you are. You're headed back to my family's place, and I swear if you bring a single flashcard I'm gonna tear the whole pile up."

Maxie argued as a habit, and could about nearly anything if he set his mind to it. Archie glared up at him, more than ready to go ten rounds if that's what it took.

Instead there was a nearly whispered 'alright' before he headed across the room to his bunk and began to pile clothes into his case. The way he kept his chin tucked tightly to his chest did nothing to hide the way his face had gone red.

Archie threw his bag over his shoulder with a smirk. Maxie did his best to keep everything in check, but he was terrible at it if you knew even a bit about him. It was fun to poke at, especially now that his face matched his hair.

He figured it'd be best to wait until they were on the train, when Maxie couldn't turn back around, before he started to tease.


	5. Chapter 5

Maxie looked up with a raised eyebrow at the can of pop he'd been offered. "Thought you said you were getting beer."

"Mom's in there," Archie explained as he took a seat. "She can't understand why her baby would ever drink, so I try to keep my nose clean." He popped the top. "Still, view's nice up here right?"

"It really is." He looked down on the town, as the sun began to set and lights slowly began to flicker on. "Thanks for this."

"Hm?"

"Dragging me on this trip." He rubbed his thumb against the can. "Furthest I probably would have gotten otherwise was the market. Definitely wouldn't have done anything but work."

"'Course your legs wouldn't be sore from all the hiking like you keep bitching about."

"That I can make you fetch things for me is helping." He tilted his drink victoriously

"Well, I'm glad. For a lotta things." Archie took a swig. "Almost thought I was going to have to carry you to the train station."

"You seriously would have?"

"Was getting ready to." He flexed his arm a bit. "And you know I could have. I kinda figured you wanted to come anyway,though."

He watched more lights flick on. "More wanted to see if I could talk you into staying, if you were only going to go with friends and getting drunk."

"Holiday break boozing is the best boozing," Archie responded, pointedly.

"But family's different."

"Yeah, it is. But what'd you want to stay in an empty base for, anyway?"

"Preparation mostly. I'm getting promoted after the holiday, figured I'd take the time to prepare." He smirked at the inevitably of it.

"Congrats. Finally over with us big boys, eh?"

"You mean the slightly larger personal safe and 15 minutes extra for lunch with the same crappy bed, hours, and pay?"

"Can't forget the fact that everything wrong comes straight down on your head to protect a higher up's ass." He paused. "That means less fieldwork though, right?"

"Well, yeah. But when do I have to go, I'm allowed to choose my guard."

"So you're going with Matt, then?"

"Of course. I love hearing my spine snap when he slaps me on the back. Especially when he makes my glasses fly off." Maxie readjusted his latest pair indignantly.

He grinned. "Yeah, he's great."

"Can you get him to stop?"

"Don't think that's possible."

He sighed, tragically. "Then I guess I'll just have to stick with you, then."

"I think I can live with that."

As the sun dipped down below the mountains, Archie hesitantly leaned over and kissed him on the temple. They exchanged a look, and Maxie gently returned it. The sky was nearly black by the time they pulled away, frozen as they caught their breath.

"We, uh..." Maxie licked his lips. "It's getting dark."

Archie nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I'll get us back."

They headed back down to the city, Maxie with his arms crossed and Archie's hands firmly buried in his pockets. It was late, they decided, and they'd figure out what was going on in the morning. And if they were too busy then, tomorrow was perfectly acceptable.


	6. Chapter 6

"You sure this is it?" Matt asked as he looked about the rather sterile hallway.

"Yeah, positive." Archie peered into the sidelights as they passed each door. "This is the right school, and it's the science building, so..."

"Doesn't he have lecture classes or something, though?" Shelly asked. "What if he's here but not _here_ here?"

"He'll be here here, both of you shut up and look."

The two exchanged a glance, but did as they were told.

The research team had always been a self-isolating group, quiet and often just a little bit snobbish. That this one had decided to delve deeply into his work since coming back from the break, barely speaking outside of work-related matters and not lingering anywhere he wasn't firmly assigned, shouldn't have come as a surprise. Instead Archie'd grown increasingly worried until they finally agreed to head down to the school with him.

Matt looked into one of the laboratory windows. "Hey, is that him?"

Archie headed back and beamed as he looked in. "Yeah, that's him."

They waited until a student happened to look up, and then eventually signal to Maxie that he had a trio of grinning, waving visitors. They waited until he paled and rushed out.

"What are you doing here?"

"We came to take you to lunch!" Archie said with a grin. "It's about that time, isn't it?"

"I'm working through lunch today, go home," Maxie said, firmly.

"My bro here says you've worked through 5 lunches this week," Matt told him. "So you're going to..."

"I'm going to go back into class and you're all going to leave! And don't wear that in public, what's wrong with you?" He snapped as he snatched the bandana off Matt's head. "Do you want us to get caught?"

"He's charming, Archie, really." Shelly pointedly ignored a glare. "He's right, though. We shouldn't be out causing a scene like this." She pointed a manicured nail at Maxie. "So here's what's going to happen. If you're not going for lunch, you're going to dinner." After a glance over, she added, "Somewhere out of earshot. Okay?"

Maxie looked between the three and nodded curtly. "Okay, that's fine. Just get out of here before I get in more trouble."

He ducked back inside and the three headed out.

"Something you wanna tell us?" Matt asked as he held the door to the science building for them.

"Just a hunch," she replied. "But he'll spill, I'm sure."

* * *

><p>Maxie had picked up a bottle of cheap wine on his way back, and they got takeout on their way to the outskirts of town. It wasn't until they'd settled, and Maxie had gotten a good drink in, before he agreed to talk.<p>

"It won't work."

"Huh? What won't...?"

"The math," he explained forcefully. "Even if we didn't have to worry about sabotage, it still would fall apart." He cut his food roughly. "I've done everything I could to make the equations bend in our favor, but it just won't."

He paused and looked down. "When'd you find out?"

"A week or so back. Got ahold of a lot more material with this rank, now I can see the whole picture. It's not good."

"Well... That just sucks. Have you told the higher ups?"

"I've tried, they don't want to hear it." He sighed and drank. "Not sure if they haven't known a while, either."

He nodded and sat back. "What do we do, then?"

"What can we do?" He asked. "You and I aren't the sort who'll abandon something we've put so much into. Smart or not, we're in it to the end."

He couldnt fight that. "Any clue when that'll be?"

"Not a bit. Depends how well everyone else does their jobs. And based on some of the help... Could be ages."

"Yeah, right." Archie watched the water lap at the coastline. "So, I guess I should ask what's going on after?"

"We'll essentially be fugitives I guess. We're low enough we shouldn't be bothered, but we still have to keep our heads down." He grabbed again for the wine. "Which means I'm going to have to give up my degree."

"You sure?"

"Once things come to light, it'd be too much of a risk to stick around. Especially with that visit today." Maxie shot him a look.

Archie offered an apologetic smile and moved to eat. "Well, I know a lot of places that give a guy a job without questions."

"Cheap rent?"

"Yup. But, you know, it's if you're interested."

Maxie shrugged. "I'll consider it."

"Are you considering anything else?"

"Hm?" He swallowed his bite. "Yes, I think we will."

"Will..." He motioned for elaboration.

"Will do this relationship." He examined his food. "I've also sorted out the mechanics behind the warp panels, by the way."

"Really?"

"There's a lot of spare time while the machines analyze. I know how to turn them on and off. In case privacy was needed."

It took a lot not to laugh. "You're not the kind of guy I thought would want to move that fast."

"I don't like beating around the bush if I want something. There's no point." He ate, and rethought as he glanced over. "Unless you weren't interested?"

"No, I am. Just surprised is all."

"Well, good." He offered the bottle. "Want some?"

"Yeah, thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

"Thought there was no eating allowed in labs."

Maxie glanced up from his book. "Counter argument: pretzels are delicious."

"That's true." Archie dragged a chair over and plopped himself down. He dug into the bag that was offered to him.

"Came down here for my snacks?"

"Nah, I have a few hours before my shift and I'm not tired enough to sleep. Figured I'd watch you guys sweat it out." He looked around at the glistening equipment, and the few interns who waited impatiently for any sign the tests were finished. "Wow. You do have a ton of time waiting on those machines..."

"It's incredible, isn't it?" He flipped a page. "And this is just a preliminary test on the sample. At the end of the day, it's not going to amount to much. But this." Maxie moved the book to show an illustration. "This is fascinating."

Archie raised an eyebrow at the Pokemon drawn on what seemed to be a cave wall. "What are those?"

"Groudon and Kyogre." He pointed to each in turn and smirked down at the book. "Legend says they created the land and water in a huge battle before they were both put to sleep."

"How'd that happen? They wear themselves out?"

"I don't know yet," he said as he pulled his book back. "It says 'an incredible force' caused it, but I'm not sure if it's a Pokemon, or an item, or something physical at all." He scribbled another factoid onto his notepad. "Of course it's a legend. Who knows if these Pokemon could ever be found again, even if they were real"

"Who knows." He dug into the bag again. "Trying to find something to fix your math?"

"No, the math is decisive," he said, firmly. "I couldn't change it even if I wanted to, and frankly I'm none to interested at this point to force it for people who can't listen." He clicked his pen shut. "This is just for my own information right now."

He leaned back to read over Maxie's shoulder. "You need to quiet down talk like that, bro. There are ears everywhere."

"Nothing I haven't said before."

They looked up with a start as an alarm screamed through the laboratory.

"Is that the trainer?"

"Worse, I think." His teeth gritted. "That sound means a raid, doesn't it?"

"I have to get to the men," Archie said as he stood up. "You guys have procedures and all, right?"

"Well rehearsed ones." He reached over and put a stop to the test. "We need 20 minutes to get everything we need out of here. Can you give us that?"

"Yeah." He ran out of the room only to look back in. "Don't die, alright?"

"You either."

* * *

><p>It'd be best to kill Archie with a blunt instrument, Maxie decided. It'd take longer, which would be a fitting punishment. He'd been put on guard out the window for any sign of the guards, trainers, or anything else. Other than a stray Taillow, there'd been nothing since they'd arrived which left him plenty of time to figure out what exactly should be used.<p>

From what little information had leaked to the research team, the main thorn was a young trainer named Stephen who had evidently made it a personal mission in life to ruin their plans. Even the non-idealists had every right, in their minds, to be bitter seeing as he was affecting their job stability. Whatever their reason, when it came time to protect their work nobody thought twice about any gripes. Maxie's underlings and he had a textbook evacuation, everything of value was loaded neatly into cases and smuggled out to the designated hiding place. Just enough was to be left behind to make any intruders think they'd find something of real value, which would buy them plenty of time to set up shop someplace else. The only thing left was to sit in the safe house and wait to be picked up, however long it took until the guards deemed it safe.

At the five hour mark, the mood in the small cabin they were crammed into had shifted from nervous to increasingly bored. After they decided that they would indeed stay as long as it took, card games broke out and conversation moved from hushed whispers to irrelevance and humor. After the fourth time he'd checked to make sure they'd taken absolutely everything they'd been supposed to, Maxie took a fellow researcher up on a spare cigarette. He nursed and focused on it, strongly as he could, to block out the shake in his leg and the urge to erupt at coworkers who didn't seem to understand the gravity of what could still be coming. If they were smart, at that point, his Numel would have started to torch every bit of paperwork they had. But they weren't, and so they just continued to sit.

They hadn't been so much as contacted by an Administrator, which Maxie felt was quite rude. They couldn't expect the utmost loyalty out of their team if they couldn't even bother to check up on them and make sure that everything and everyone had come out alright. If he were in charge, the whole thing would be run with far more professionalism and courtesy. After all, these were people that you at least hoped believed in the cause as much as the leader at its head did. The least that should be offered is a peek in to see if anyone was dead.

It was easier to stew over that than to focus on the fact there hadn't been hide nor hair of the guards since they'd left the base. Many of the young ones were simply seen as canon fodder and not expected to make it out of any real problem. Maxie wondered if they were ever informed of that, and for that matter how high up did someone have to be before they fully understood their expendability. How far into the foodchain did one have to go before the Administrators worried about them? And was he, as a sub-administering researcher, just as replaceable?

He did all he could not to settle on the idea that he'd simply ask Archie later, because that brought with it the point that there'd been no word from him since he'd ordered Maxie not to die. They really should have kissed, then. They should have done a lot more before, and his foot only shook harder as he fought the idea that he might never get a chance to fix that.

He extinguished the cigarette as the conversation moved from crude gambling to again pondering whether they should move on or at the least get something to eat. As should have been expected, just as they'd figured out how to get food to them without any risk of capture the back door flew open.

"Kay, nerds, let's get a move-on." He guard hitched a thumb to the door. The grumbling and insistence on an explanation was ignored as the research was loaded rather roughly into a truck.

When Maxie filed out of the cabin, it seemed all Archie could do to keep from running over.

"Looks like you made it."

"You too. Now I just need something hard to hit you with for keeping us waiting that long." He added in a mutter "Without any notice."

He smiled apologetically, which was about all he could offer right then. "Sure there's something at the next place. Plus I hear they already have plenty of food over there."

His stomach growled, fiercely, as he was ushered into the waiting van. "I guess I can put it off for a bit more."

Archie climbed in after him. "How about I throw in my serving of that nasty pudding you like?"

"You think that equals making me think you were dead for hours?"

"Pretty well, yeah."

Maxie gave him a firm elbow as the doors were slammed and locked. "Don't do that again."

He smirked and nudged back with his shoulder. "Promise."

The van ride was hot, cramped, and dark. Maxie couldn't find any reason to complain, really. With their fingers laced he rubbed Archie's thumb, surreptitiously, with his own as they rumbled on to their new home.


	8. Chapter 8

To call the new facilities cramped would have been an incredible wide aisles and personal safes had been left behind, as had as had all of the equipment they'd grown used to. There was a fridge used to store what samples needed it, but otherwise they had nothing.

Archie almost considered it a blessing to have double shifts to keep him busy, though he didn't dare say anything for risk it'd turn to double overtime. Being outside, away from the blaring and cramped paranoia inside, was as close to relaxation as he'd get for the next few weeks.

Maxie has the same idea, only without the work. Since the research team had essentially been put on hiatus during the break, able to do little without equipment, resources, or at the least drawing attention, he'd taken to reading outdoors. He was helping to guard if anyone asked, though it was more an excuse for his Pokemon to stretch outside their PokeBalls than anything.

It was for the best, their supervisors had grudgingly admitted. It was easier to accept two people sitting out for hours on end rather than just one.

"Ever been to Fortree?" Archie asked. He offered a nonchalant, yet uninviting, wave to a pair of passing hikers.

"No," Maxie replied without looking up from his book. "What's there?"

"Weather institute. Heard it's a good trip."

"That sounds nice. I've wanted to see the Mossdeep Space Center. Evidently there are tours."

"That'd be good, too." He glanced over to nod at the 'all clear' sign his Golbat gave. "Of course that all takes money."

"As well as jobs and housing, on top of food and supplies." His voice dropped to a mutter. "References and work history help too."

Archie grinned. "If you're good, you can get around all of those."

"How can you be good enough to get out of rent?"

"If you don't stay in one place too long, you don't need to worry about rent."

Maxie opened his mouth to protest, then shut it again. "Touche."

"Between charisma and nerd smarts it shouldn't be that hard to get a couple free admissions. Maybe even a few nights in a hostel."

"You really think so?"

"Anything's possible. I know the charisma part will at least pull through." He grinned at the glare. "You know I'm right."

"Don't you have a job to do?"

"Don't you have anything to do but bug me since you left school?"

'I guess I could research this hypothetical journey indoors and leave you alone for the next..." He glanced at his watch. "7 hours."

"Nah, I'll force my way through."

"Hm." He straightened a bit. "Speaking of inhuman charm, can you handle that ranger? They're getting awfully close to my Numel..."

Archie smirked and stood. "Let the master work."

Over the edge of his book, Maxie watched as the trainer was gradually talked down and sent off without so much as a glance back. As Archie patted his leg, and the Numel happily plodded back after him, Maxie flipped to the coastal section of the travel guide. If they were really going to become a team, he should at least be well acquainted with the areas he'd undoubtedly be spending most of his time in.


End file.
